Coke and Pepsi (to name just two) took a hit from the BDS movement. Local brands bottled the opportunity

This publication believes in the non-violent global Palestinian Boycott Sanction and Divest (BDS) movement. As a matter of editorial policy, we hold that efforts to boycott certain companies in a targeted attempt to exert economic pressure on them for supporting Israel at a time when it is embarking on a relentless genocide in Gaza and The West Bank is an effective mode of resistance. More importantly than the effectiveness of such methods, we believe in the moral merit of boycotts simply because it is one of the foremost popular demands made by the Palestinian people. 

We also believe in understanding what this movement means, and what it asks of global civil society. Founded in 2005, BDS is a successor movement. It is modelled on a method of targeted boycotts inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the US Civil Rights movement, the Indian and the Irish anti-colonial struggles, among others worldwide. It is non-violent, and believes that when it comes to corporations, consumer choice is a weapon that can be wielded to great effect. 

The concept is simple: there are corporations all over the world that do business with Israel. Some of these companies are harmless while others provide key technology and equipment that is directly used for the subjugation of the Palestinian people. The idea is for individuals all over the world that support the end of Apartheid in Palestine to boycott these companies, and hopefully hurt the businesses of these corporations enough for them to notice and change their policies. 

The question is, does it work? There are examples of boycott movements exerting significant pressure on corporations in countries like South Africa and Ireland. BDS itself has had its own victories, both big and small, over the past two decades. Since October 2023, when the brutal invasion and subsequent bombing of Gaza began, there has been increased interest in the BDS movement which has picked up steam in different parts of the world. 

It has also done so in Pakistan. But Pakistan holds a strange position when it comes to the BDS movement. On the one hand, it is the second-largest Muslim population in the world and has historically been a staunch ally of the Palestinians. But the actual global impact Pakistan can contribute to the BDS movement is minimal simply because it is not a large enough market.